


Charred Memories

by SincubusMynx



Series: Slave of Memories [2]
Category: Draco and Hermione, Dramione - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7687360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincubusMynx/pseuds/SincubusMynx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After sharing a brief intimate moment together, Hermione starts to lose her sanity while trying to continue her research to cure her parents. Draco attempts to help her at all costs and ends up asking help from an unlikely ally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charred Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second installment of my Slave of Memories series. Please read the first installment (Testing the Waters) before diving into any new ones. As always, all comments and suggestions are welcome!

It was nearly midnight when a loud pop echoed throughout the library. The area was dormant as it had already been locked up for the night. The candles had all been put out and only the full moon shone through the windows, some covered in drapes and some bare. This was the only source of light as Draco led Hermione by the hand over to where they were only hours before. Their section of scattered books still laid strewn about the area. Hermione grimaced as she recalled her outburst as Draco had woken her up. She had been having a nightmare and was having trouble escaping from it. It was the first time she had slept in over a week. It was no wonder she passed out in one of the only places she felt safe. Hermione looked at the mess all around and sighed. “I’m surprised. Normally the house elves would have come and cleaned this mess up by now.” she said letting her fingers trace the spines of the books on the closest wall. “It’s not like them to leave anything behind.” At this Draco smirked. “I’ll have to thank them. It would be a pain if they attempted to put these books up.” He said motioning to his stack. “They don’t belong here and it would take me ages to sift through the library to find them again. Hermione eyed him cautiously. It’s true they had shared a brief intimate moment not only moments before, but the ideas flooding her mind were enough to keep her emotions at bay. Before she could stop herself the words slipped out. “Why did you follow me Draco? Why did you come here in the first place?” She said glancing from him towards his smaller tower of tomes. “H-how?” She began with a stutter. “How did you find these?!” Hermione walked briskly over towards the books and went to grab one when Draco stopped her in her tracks. He stood before the stack and had his arms held out to his side to prevent her from reaching around. “Now now, you don’t think I’m just going to give you the books do you?” Draco said with a sly grin. By this time, Hermione’s nerves were shot. Those books...the ones she had spent months searching for. Certainly the cure for memory loss was in them. She was so close to solving the problem. Her body started to shake. She was arm’s length from ending her research. She glared up at Draco as he smirked. If she was in a level headed state, she would have known Draco was only teasing her, attempting to bring out some of her charm and wit. Sadly, Hermione was not up to being level headed. Once again a loud pop echoed throughout the library. Blood drained out of Draco’s face as he realized what was happening all too slowly. Hermione had apparated behind him, grabbed his books and began to apparate away. Draco lunged towards her again attempted to repeat his earlier feat and grab her before she was gone. Her long brown hair slipped through his fingers and in an instant she was gone. Anger flooded him. He was trying to help her; why did she insist on running away from him. “Dammit woman!” Draco growled out, pounding his fist into the table. It was clear he was running out of time. Hermione was at the end of her ropes. Draco didn’t have the time to thoroughly look through the books she took. If the cure wasn’t in them...Draco shook his head attempting to dismiss the thought of what Hermione would do. *I have to find her* he thought to himself. “Harry!” Draco cried out as the thought struck him. In an instant, Draco disappeared from the vacant library and made his way to The Burrow.

 

On the other side of town Hermione popped into the garden behind her house. Rows of unattended herbs and bushes among the untrimmed trees met her gaze as she surveyed the area. She had not been back there in months and honestly didn’t want to be here now. Before she made her mind up to delve deep into researching a cure for her parents, she would come out back to her garden and lay under the trees to read. This place use to be her sanctuary. Looking around her haven looked dismal and bleak. The tree she used to read under had grown wild and lost many of its leaves while thorns and ivy twisted around the trunk making the tree look fearsome. The small garden she created with her mother was dead and overrun with weeds. Her heart sank to see the garden in such a state. Wiping away a stray tear, she took a step towards the old tree and felt books hit her leg. It took a moment before she remembered what happened. Guilt rushed over her as she pulled the books from her bag and sat down on the overgrown grass. She hadn’t meant to run off with Draco’s books, but when she saw them, she lost it. A long sigh escaped her lips as she laid her head back on the chipped bark of the tree. “He is going to hate me for that” Hermione whispered softly to herself. “Maybe…” pain hit her chest. “Maybe...that’s for the best.” she said taking a deep breath. The moments she shared with Draco before flowed into her memory. How he was gentle in the way he held her, and how it turned into need and want the longer they had stayed entwined. How he smelled intoxicating as he pushed himself onto her. The taste of his lips wrapping around hers. Blood rushed to her face and she shook the memories from her head. “I need to focus or else I’ll be here all night” She grabbed the first book from the stack and dove into it. Hours passed and she had already read the first four books. Her blood started to boil as she was frustrated how not one of the books seemed to contain what she had been looking for. She began to laugh hysterically as she gripped the book tighter and tighter. Tears started to fall from her eyes as her laughing turned to screaming. Bloodshot eyes stared at the tomes she had already read. Her fury had started to consume her. She slowly raised her wand and pointed to the stack she had finished. “Incendio!” Hermione whispered as she watched the flames jump from the tip of her wand to the tomes. The flames spread quickly through the parchment and binding. She closed her eyes as the flames grew. She should have felt guilt for destroying the books, but she didn’t She felt hollow. If those books didn’t contain what she needed, then she had no use for them. The dry overgrown grass was perfect kindling. The fire started to spread through the tall grass, torching the dead shrubs and trees. It only took minutes before Hermione was outside the old wooden gate, watching her former sanctuary burn to the ground. She held the last three books stolen from Draco in her arms as she walked towards the woods. Pushing through into the dark woods, Hermione’s senses were hit with the smell of damp earth. She looked towards the sky and saw black clouds rolling in. She found a tall willow and crawled under its leaves. She took her wand and placed a Impervius spell around the limbs of the tree in order to prevent water from coming through. She sat with his back on the tree and closed her eyes. Nothing matter none. Not the charred remains of her family garden nor the ashes of the stolen books. All that remained what her will to find how to reverse the memory charm. She slowly opened her sunken eyes and pulled out the next book, determined to find her answer.

Draco appeared at the edge of a dirt road. He had learned his lesson before to never just apparate into the Burrow. She may not look like it, but Mrs. Weasley was a feisty witch. Draco made his way towards the wooden fence that surrounded the property and unlatched the gate. Strolling through the pumpkin patch and vegetable garden he spotted several gnomes trying to his behind the bushes. Draco kneeled down and grabbed the pests to toss them over the fence, but not before getting dirt on himself and a nice size bite from the beasts. He knew Molly could get Ron or Arthur to do it, but since he was going to bother her, he would use this as a gift. After tossing vermin off to the side he continued forward. Before Draco could reach the front door up the old stairs, the door burst open and a short red haired woman with a dirtied apron appeared. “Draco darling! It’s been too long.” Molly squealed with delight. Draco smiled warmly towards her and finished making his way up to the house. Molly pulled him into a hug and wiped a patch of dirt from his cheek. “I’m sorry love. You seem to have gotten dirty on your trek here!” She smiled kindly to him. “Oh it’s nothing. I caught a few gnomes trying to get into your pumpkin patch again” Draco said wiping the remaining dirt from his clothes. “Oh dear! I’ll have to get after Arthur again. He was supposed to be setting up a charm to…” Molly grabbed Draco’s arm pulling him into the house while still chatting away about things her husband was supposed to have done. This was Draco’s first trip to the Burrow, but he was always amazed. Compared to his family’s mansion, which was dark and cold, the Burrow was warm and full of life. Molly had charmed objects to help her with daily chores. Molly continued pulling him through the home and into the kitchen. A scrub brush was working away in the sick trying to clean a copper pot. Silverware that was already cleaned marched over towards the cupboard and settled into their places. Tea cups and trays floated around the stove waiting on the tea that was being boiled to finish so they could set the table. “Come my dear. Please sit. You must have come a long way.” Molly said pulling out an old wooden chair with hand knitted cushions for him to sit on. “Thank you very much Molly. I don’t mean to be a burden” Draco said as he sat down. The table was very long, as the Weasley’s had a large family. After Draco sat down he happen to notice a dark section near the end of the table. He glanced over and saw a pair of beady bloodshot eyes and a head full of messy red hair. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing here Malfoy” Ron spat out look sour as ever. “Ronald! Behave yourself. Draco is our guest.” Molly snapped at her son setting down a cup of tea, honey and a scone in front of Draco. He nodded in appreciation towards Molly. “I don’t care if you think he is a guest. Why are you here?” Ron said with his voice raising. Draco took a bite of the scone which tasted like heaven. After a moment's pause, Draco looked to Ron. “I’m looking for Harry if you must know.” he said coolly trying to contain his temper. “What for? S’not like he wants to see you Malfoy” again Ron said curtly. Draco chose to ignore the obvious death glare he was receiving a turned to Molly who was getting red in the face from her son’s rude behavior. “Molly, I was wondering if you had seen Harry. I need to ask him where to find Hermione.” Draco said sounding defeated. Molly’s eyes grew wide and a second later a tea cup crashed on the floor where Ron was sitting as he slammed his fists into the table. “WHY THE HELL DO YOU NEED TO KNOW!” Ron shouted at Draco, fists grinding into the table. Ignoring Ron, Draco continued, “I was helping her with some research and well...” he rubbed the back of his neck. He was really embarrassed to have to admit he was lost the witch, but knew he needed to tell the truth. “While helping her, she saw some books I had gotten for her to look over and he apparated away with them.” He needed to tell Molly the truth, but not the whole truth. “I’m really worried about her and Harry always seems to know where she is.” At that Ron lost it. He grabbed the table and shoved it against the wall opposite Draco, grabbed Draco by the robes and pulled his face inches within his own. With shaky breaths Ron glared at him. “Why were you helping her? Why do you even care? We won’t tell you where to find Harry, Malfoy. You should learn to keep your ferret nose out of people's business. Leave Hermione alone” he said gripping tightly onto Draco’s robes. This did not bother Draco in the slightest. Having spoken to Potter at lengths at his wedding, he knew what had happened between Hermione and Ron. He knew with a single sentence; he could tear Ron off whatever pedestal he thought he was on. Molly started shrieking towards her son, trying to put a stop to Ron’s outburst. Draco took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. This was something he had learned from Severus in their sixth year at Hogwarts to calm his nerves while in the presence of Voldemort. Draco opened his eyes again, nerves settled. “Hermione was troubled. I offered my help and she accepted. I want to help her cure her parents” he said matter-of-factly. At this, Ron decided he didn’t want to hear anymore. With a loud pop, Ron disappeared from the kitchen of the Burrow. Molly was frantic and visibly upset. “Merlin’s beard that boy! Where does he get off? Draco dear I’m very sorry.” Molly said while a single wave of her wand set everything back up as if Ron’s tantrum had never happened. “Since the end of the war, Ron has been grumpy. When Hermione decided to try and help her parents, they got in a scuff because he refused to help her saying it was a lost cause.” “But it’s not!” Draco shouted out. Blood pumping through his veins. He knew they had a spat, but that was the reason. “She is so close. So close to finding the cure.” Molly sat down across from Draco and eyed him carefully. “While I don’t agree with how Ron asked, I do find myself wondering as well. How come you are so interested in helping Hermione? She asked sweetly while taking a sip of tea. Draco could feel his heart racing. Memories flooding back of their time together. How pitiful she looked while searching through the old books. How, even while exhausted, he thought she was beautiful. How the moon had shown off her curly brown hair, how she tasted that night. His face became bright red. He didn’t know how to answer Molly. It was a simple question. Why did he care? Simple, but hard for him to put into words. After a few minutes of deafening silence, Draco spoke out. “I care about her Molly. I care about her deeply. I want to help her in any way I can.” at this confession Molly smiled brightly. She hopped up and took Draco by the arm and led him into the small living room. “There you are my dear.” she said pointing to the fantastic clock that showed where family members were. Molly had added Harry to the clock during their third year at Hogwarts. Draco peered at the clock and found Harry’s portrait looking back at him. The clock hand clearly pointing to *At Work*. “Excellent!” Draco beamed. He knew where to look. He turned to face Molly. “How can I ever thank you?” She simply smiled and gave him a warm hug. Before letting him go, she whispered “Help Hermione.” into his ear. He knew what to do. With a nod back Draco apparated towards the Ministry of Magic. Once Draco had left the Burrow, Molly turned towards the stairs the led up to the second story of her home. “Ginny dear, please let Harry know he will have a visitor soon!” “Way ahead of you mother” Ginny’s voice called from the second story. “Harry is just waiting for him to show up.” Molly smiled knowing that Harry would help Draco to help Hermione.

 

It was dark outside. Another storm was approaching. Harry looked at the owl shaped clock that hung on the wall of his office. “Hmm it’s almost midnight.” he said with a sigh. “Couldn’t he have chosen a better time to talk?” Harry rambled off sitting at his desk sifting through paperwork. He should have been on his way home by now. If it wasn’t for Ginny letting him listen to the chaos that went down at the Burrow, he would have already left. Harry knew Ron overreacted and was plain rude to Draco. Since the breakup, Ron had turned into a sourpuss. He knew Draco had good intentions and would rather help Draco, then side with his best friend. Harry pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his office chair. It had been Harry’s dream to become an Auror but didn’t realize that the entry position meant he had a ton of paperwork to comb through for the actual Auror office. While looking through a packet dealing with a string of incidents where the Auror code of stealth needed to be called into play a light rap came at the door. “Come in” Harry said absentmindedly flipping through the pages of the report. Draco opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Harry” he said tiredly. He had been up for three days since the incident with Hermione. Dark bags showed under his eyes and his normally tidy hair, looked tossed about. “Draco! You look a mess. Please come in and sit. Rest a bit” Harry beckoned Draco into the room. Draco walked forward and sat down before Harry. “H-Harry…” Draco began to tell his story, but Harry held a hand up to stop him. “Draco, I already know everything.” Draco’s eyes grew big. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in detail about the events that happened and since Hermione’s disappearance he doubted she felt like talking about it either. Harry noted Draco stiffen at his words and smirked. “You aren’t the only one who cares for Hermione’s well-being you know.” He picked up a stack of papers and started sorting them. “I’ve been having her tracked since a few months after the battle. With the stress from battle, losing her parents and Ron leaving her...well...I was worried about her sanity.” Harry pushed another stack to the side. “And apparently I was right to worry. I’ve asked Rita Skeeter to track her. Rita is an unregistered Animagus that can turn into a beetle. Not the biggest fan of Hermione’s, but dreadfully useful. Rita follows Hermione around keeping an eye on things, and reports anything weird back to me.” Harry pauses while he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Leaning forward, Harry placed his elbows on the edge of his desk, folded his hands together and surveyed Draco. The news hit him like a ton of bricks. Everywhere Hermione went…. for the last year...she had been traced. Draco snapped his attention back to Harry as he continued his explanation. “During the wedding, Rita had told me about your conversations. How Hermione was very unstable after your talk. I requested she stay on Hermione at all times. We know how she can be. Painfully witty but can get into trouble at the drop of a hat. Mix that together with her being mentally unstable and you are just asking for a disaster.” Harry said grimly. “Listen Draco, I know about what happened at the library. I know what happened at her home. At first I misunderstood your reasoning. She is one of my best friends and to see her…. like this.” Harry muttered rubbing his temples. “I haven’t received a report from Rita in four days, but knowing Hermione she is in one of three places. The library you found her in the first time, in the Forest of Dean, or her home. I doubt she would return to the very place she fled from you, so we can discard the library. The Forest of Dean holds a special place in her heart with fond memories of her parents, but with the weather as finicky as a pixie, I’d say we can count that out as well.” Harry leaned back in his chair. “That leaves…” “Her home!” Draco interjected. “Blast it, I’ve only been there once. I didn’t exactly manage to see where is was located at either.” He said as his face turned scarlet red. Honestly, Draco didn’t remember much at all about Hermione’s home. Not the location nor the decoration of her home. When he tried to remember anything about his visit all he could remember was how the little witch looked while crying into his chest. How the tears hung onto her eyelashes while others streamed down her cheeks. How her eyes managed to look puffy but bright at the same time. And all of the feelings he felt in that very moment. The whole world seemed to have stopped in those moments. He would do anything to have that back again. Breaking his thoughts, Harry stood up and looked Draco in the eyes. “Draco...I have no right to ask, but please…. please help her Draco.” Harry's voice trembled. The worry and pain he had felt over the course of the year swirled around him. “Please. Draco...” he choked out bowing his head to hid the slow tears forming. Without a word, Draco nodded and the next second he was gone. Dust swirled around the place Draco has just been. Harry sat back in chair and let his worry wash over him. He removed his glasses and wiped the tears falling from his eyes. “Please help her Draco. You’re the only one that can...” Harry whispered into the darkness. Hoping the wish would reach through and cause a change in events. To depend on Draco Malfoy to help Hermione. It was something out of a story book. Having read through Rita’s reports he knew how deeply Draco had come to care for Hermione. This comforted him as he set off towards the Burrow knowing that Draco was on his way to Hermione.


End file.
